SP leader Pushpraj Singh Yadav said several families in Jalalpur village are followers of Modi and hence he decided to build the temple where people could worship him.

A former Samajwadi Party worker has laid the foundation stone of a temple dedicated to Narendra Modi in Jalalpur area of Allahabad district, a month after another such structure at Rajkot in Gujarat was demolished following objections raised by the Prime Minister.

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The temple is being built by Shree Krishna Sena, an Allahabad-based outfit formed by former SP leader Pushpraj Singh Yadav. It will come up on a 800-square metre area of land owned by Yadav, who is also the president of Shree Krishna Sena.

The bhumi pujan was performed Saturday and the foundation stone laid amid chanting of mantras. While local BJP unit has opposed the move, Shree Krishna Sena is adamant on building the temple.

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Yadav said several families in Jalalpur village are followers of Modi and hence he decided to build the temple where people could worship him. “Prophet Mohammad, Lord Krishna and Lord Ram are worshipped by their followers because they did noble work on earth. Modi is also doing good work. My organisation admires him like a god and took the initiative to build the temple,” Yadav said.

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His outfit has hired a sculptor from Azamgarh, Kanta Prasad, to build the temple, which will house a five-feet marble statue of Modi. Prasad is scheduled to inspect the site on Tuesday.

During the foundation stone laying ceremony, Shree Krishna Sena workers were seen donning BJP caps. “They were local BJP workers who supported my initiative. I provided them the caps because Modiji is a BJP leader. Senior BJP leaders of the district have refused to cooperate in construction of the temple,” Yadav said.

When told that the Prime Minister, too, was against building any temple in his name, Yadav said Modi cannot stop somebody from following and worshipping him. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1 crore.